I did it!

Tuesday-January 4, 2011

I did it!

I called Congressman Boehner’s office yesterday and started what I hope is a continuing dialog. This is the first step in organizing for conservative thought and action. I also called my U.S. House Representative and Senator. They are both Democrats and did not return the calls. I hope to establish a dialog with them as well.

This was easy and I found that Congressman Boehner’s office was receptive to my thoughts and in Pinecone Conservatives.

Yesterday, I started the year off with writing about American Exceptionalism. We will hear more about this concept in the coming months. We should be prepared to use this term whenever possible.

On this date, in 1790, President Washington delivered his first State of the Union address. It was an exceptional time in American History. A few short years earlier, the Declaration of Independence was written and signed and our Constitution followed shortly thereafter. This is what American Exceptionalism is all about. It was the idea that man can chart his own destiny without government telling him what he can and cannot do

Our early founder’s realized that they had created a nation like no other in the history of man. They knew that this nation could endure any hardship and it that would lead the world in the quest for freedom and liberty. This is forgotten today, by many.

We listen to the elites in this country and we listen to the elites in countries that do not have the freedoms we do and some of us would have it that way.

In April 2009, President Barack Obama said, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."

Our founders established American exceptionalism when they established our unique form of government. It is a government that no other country had created before or since. Our founders put the people in control, rather than themselves or royalty. They also grounded the rights of the people in God while still guaranteeing religious freedom and avoiding religious persecution. That was and remains truly exceptional today.

The founders recognized that religious governments get their power from someone's sacred scripture while secular governments simply adopt the beliefs of those in power. Both types have significant disadvantages: religious governments frequently experience doctrinal struggles and often create an environment of intolerance toward those of other faiths; and secular governments — since they are based on nothing more than the personal opinions of their rulers — have a tendency to lose stability and violate the rights of the people when corrupt rulers take power. Our Founding Fathers wanted to avoid these two extremes.

In England, mandated government religion led to acts of religious intolerance that violated unalienable human rights. The Founders wanted to ensure that the citizens of this new nation did not make the same mistake as their mother country. They realized that since God doesn't force anyone to adhere to one set of religious beliefs, neither should the government.
This remains true today, even when religious clerics attempt to construct a Mosque and other houses of worship. The reason why we remain exceptional is that the majority of Americans recognize this as a strength that keeps us free.

The American Dream started over 250 years ago. Washington culminated that dream with a speech about the State of the Union. This is a tradition and an opportunity to keep what is American truly American. The dream that we see and feel every day by a majority of Americans is just that. We strive to keep that dream alive and preserve that dream of liberty and freedom for our posterity. This is what the American Tradition is all about. This is what keeps our posterity free.

While we examine what American Exceptionalism is we need to ask one question. Does Britain have a British Dream? Does Greece have a Greecian dream? Does Iran have an Iranian dream? Does North Korea have a North Korean dream? The answer is no. When people think about America they think about Washington. They know what Lincoln did and they realize that Reagan kept that American Dream alive. This is why America is an Exceptional place. Don’t let any one diminish it, especially the President!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: This is the conversation I will have tomorrow with another member of Congress.